Penrith was named after the town of Penrith in Cumbria, England. The name is of Cumbric origin, a Celtic language of northern Britain related Welsh, 'Pen' which is Cumbric and Welsh for 'Head' or 'Chief' and the Cumbric 'Rid' (Rhydd in Welsh) for Ford giving the name 'Chief Ford' or 'Hill Ford'. How it got the name is unclear. One theory is that in the early days, development in Penrith was entirely on one road, like the English Penrith, and someone familiar with both spotted the similarity and suggested the name. The earliest known written reference to the name Penrith dates back to 1819.[3]

Prior to the arrival of the Europeans, the Penrith area was home to the Mulgoa tribe of the Darug people. They lived in makeshift huts called gunyahs, hunted native animals such as kangaroos, fished in the Nepean River, and gathered local fruits and vegetables such as yams. They lived under an elaborate system of Law which had its origins in the Dreamtime. Most of the Mulgoa were killed by smallpox or galgala shortly after the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788. Early British explorers such as Watkin Tench described them as friendly, saying, "they bade us adieu, in unabated friendship and good humour".[4]

Watkin Tench was the first British explorer to visit the area in 1789 and named the Nepean River after Lord Evan Nepean, under-secretary to the home department.[5] Governor King began granting land in the area to settlers in 1804 with Captain Daniel Woodriff's 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) on the banks of the river the first land grant in the area. In 1814, William Cox constructed a road across the Blue Mountains which passed through Woodriff's land at Penrith. Initial settlement in the area was unplanned but substantial enough for a courthouse to be established in 1817.[3]

Thomas Frost's grave at St. Stephen's

The post office was established in 1828, the Anglican church, St Stephens, was opened and consecrated 16 July 1839[6] followed by the Catholic Church, St Nicholas of Myra, in 1850. Two other prominent Penrith pioneers were Irish-born Thomas Jamison (1752/53-1811), a member of the First Fleet and surgeon-general of New South Wales (after whom Jamisontown is named), and his son, the landowner, physician and constitutional reformer Sir John Jamison (1776–1844). In 1824, Sir John erected the colony's finest Georgian mansion, Regentville House, near Penrith, on a ridge overlooking the Nepean River. Sir John established an impressive agricultural estate at Regentville and became a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council. His grave can be seen in St Stephen's graveyard. Regentville House burned down in 1868 but most of its stonework was salvaged and used for building projects in and around Penrith.

Another well-known early settler was Thomas Frost (d. 1862) who arrived from Buckinghamshire in 1810. His wife Sarah[7] had been baptised by Samuel Marsden and her brother, Robert Rope, was reputed to be the first European born in Australia.[8][9] In a Petition to the governor of the colony, Sir Thomas Brisbane, on 13 October 1822, Thomas Frost declares that he is a Free Man and cultivates a farm on the Nepean River where he has a herd of 125 cattle. He mentions that the previous Governor, General Macquarie, was pleased to grant him, Thomas, a further 50 acres (20 ha) of land at Bathurst and he now craves the Governor's consent to drive cattle across the mountains to that property for pasturage. Frost's gravestone still stands in good condition in St. Stephen's Churchyard, Penrith.

The first bridge was opened over the Nepean in 1856 and was washed away the following year in a flood. The railway line was extended to Penrith in 1863, a school was established in 1865 and in 1871 the area became a municipality. It officially became a city in 1959.[3]

Penrith railway station has its own bus interchange (as do several major railway stations in Sydney). Penrith is also served by Nightride Bus route 70.

Penrith can easily be accessed from St. Marys and Mt. Druitt via the Great Western Highway. Access from further east is best obtained by the M4 Western Motorway using either The Northern Road or Mulgoa Road exits. If travelling east from the Blue Mountains, access is best obtained by the Great Western Highway. Access from the south can be obtained by The Northern Road and Mulgoa Road, north from Castlereagh road or Richmond road, or from north and south via Westlink M7 and the M4 Western Motorway.

The NSW Government announced funding for the construction of the M9 in the 2014 state budget[10][11] to connect Camden, Penrith and Windsor. The proposed motorway will start from the M5 motorway and run west of the current M7 motorway.

The Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Complex is in High Street next to the Council Chambers. Named after opera singer Joan Sutherland, the building was designed by architect Philip Cox and opened in 1990. It incorporates the Penrith Conservatorium of Music and the Q Theatre (Penrith), which had been operating in Station Street for 30 years before moving to the complex in 2006.[17]

Penrith has a number of local sporting clubs, the most well known being the Penrith Panthersrugby league club who play in the National Rugby League. The club (one of the largest in Australia) has a massive entertainment complex and resort, Panthers World of Entertainment. Penrith's Junior Rugby League competition is the largest in the world, which also incorporates teams from the Blue Mountains, Blacktown and Windsor/Richmond areas. Visit the Penrith Junior League Website for more information.

The Panthers' home ground, Penrith Stadium (or Centrebet Stadium), is also home to the Penrith Nepean United[18] soccer club. The club has been quite successful, perhaps the team's most memorable result has been a 2–1 Win against Asian Champions League contenders Sydney FC in a home game friendly match in front of 5000 fans on 17 August 2007.

Just west of Cranebrook is the Penrith Lakes Scheme, a system of flooded quarries that are now recreational lakes. One of these lakes hosted the rowing events of the Sydney 2000 Olympics. This facility is rated as a Level One course which can be used for international events.[21] The course itself is fully buoyed and can be modified to accommodate swimming and kayaking events.

Penrith is home to four local weekly newspapers: The Western Weekender, Nepean News, Penrith Press and Penrith Star. It is also home to local radio stations Vintage FM 87.6 (40's, 50's & 60's Music), Fusion 87.8 Hit Music Radio (Top 40 Music) and Cool Country 2KA.

Penrith has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfa) with hot summers and mild winters. The temperatures are a few degrees warmer than Sydney (Observatory Hill) which has a temperateoceanic climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfb), on some spring and summer days and a few degrees cooler on most nights of the year. In extreme cases, there could be a temperature differential of +10 degrees Celsius in summer due to seabreezes, which do not usually penetrate inland. The average Summer temperature range is 17.9 °C (64.2 °F) to 29.8 °C (85.6 °F) and in the Winter 6.2 °C (43.2 °F) to 18.6 °C (65.5 °F).[26]

Mean yearly rainfall is 719.2mm, which is less than Sydney (Observatory Hill) rainfall by 493.0mm (Sydney Observatory Hill's mean yearly rainfall is 1212.2mm [27]), as coastal showers do not penetrate inland. The highest recorded temperature is 46.5 °C (115.7 °F) on 18 January 2013. The lowest recorded temperature was -1.4 °C (29.5 °F) on 12 July 2002.[28][29]

In the 2011 census, Penrith recorded a population of 11,813 people. Of these:[1]

Age distribution: Residents had a similar range of ages to the country overall. The median age was 37 years, identical to the national median. Children aged under 15 years made up 17.1% of the population (national average is 19.3%) and people aged 65 years and over made up 17.5% of the population (national average is 14.0%).

Ethnic diversity : 71% were born in Australia, compared to the national average of 70%; the next most common countries of birth were England 4.4%, New Zealand 2.0%, India 1.3%, Philippines 1.2% and China 0.9%. At home, 80% of residents only spoke English; other languages spoken at home included Arabic 1.0%, Cantonese 0.8%, Mandarin 0.7%, Spanish 0.7% and Tagalog 0.5%.

Finances: The median household weekly income was $949, compared to the national median of $1,234. This difference is also reflected in real estate, with the median mortgage payment being $1,700 per month, compared to the national median of $1,800.

Transport: On the day of the Census, 15.5% of employed people traveled to work on public transport and 61.1% by car (either as driver or as passenger).

Mark Geyer (b. 1967) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s and '90s. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative second-rower, he is currently a rugby league media identity.